Sean

Nine-year-old Sean has been a worrier since early childhood, but his worries have caused increasing problems the older he has gotten. In the preschool years, he was afraid of the dark and afraid to be left alone in his room, so fearful of monsters under the bed and in his closet that bedtime was a major ordeal. Dropoffs at preschool were painful scenes, with Sean in tears, clinging to his mom, preschool staff cajoling, and forced separation followed by anguished protests.

Now a fourth grader, Sean is markedly different from most of his classmates – shy and withdrawn at recess, continually worried that he will do something “dumb” in front of his peers and suffer ridicule, or make a mistake in his schoolwork and be criticized by his teacher. He is mortified at the thought of answering a question aloud in class. Last month, when the teacher assigned an oral book report, she precipitated a crisis at home: Each night for a week before the deadline, Sean was tearful and terrified of certain failure – sure that he would make a fool of himself in front of the class, and so paralyzed by fear that he couldn't concentrate on preparing the report. By D-Day, Sean was near collapse, complained of a stomachache, and begged his mother not to make him go to school. Forced to go, he delivered his report in a barely audible voice, with hands and knees trembling; he made no eye contact with the class, forgot his main points, and sat down looking pale, faint, and mortified.